Power of an Eagle
by Zephyros-Phoenix
Summary: HIATUS - Farren Hawke leads her family from Lothering to escape the Blight, but dies at the hands of an ogre after saving her sister. But greater forces won't let Farren go so easily and compel her to return to life. Farren is forever changed as her family arrives in Kirkwall safely and she finds danger and love in the walls of the City of Chains. F!MageHawkexFenris
1. Losing it All

**I've become rather obsessed with the Dragon Age franchise recently, in particular Dragon Age 2, which I enjoyed playing more in terms of combat (for more on my feelings on the Dragon Age games, check out my review of Origins and 2 on my deviantART page). That and I've read quite a few Dragon Age fanfictions and it's gotten to the point where I'd like to take a stab at writing my own DA fic. If something you read here sounds like something you read in another story, it may have been subconscious influence. All the Dragon Age fanfics I've enjoyed the most are listed in my favorites.**

**This will basically be a rewrite of the events of the second game based on my own playthrough. Main events will largely remain unchanged from the game, but I'll try to incorporate additional or altered dialogue the way I see fit and any ideas that come to mind. Feel free to suggest.**

**F!MageHawke, diplomatic/helpful personality, romance with Fenris, friendship with everyone except Carver (rivalry), no Sebastian (atm). **

**I do not own Dragon Age; it is property of Bioware. Hawke is also property of Bioware, but I guess I own "my" Hawke, or whatever. **

* * *

Two figures with blazing eyes on the chest piece of their armor dragged a dwarf by his arms across the courtyard in front of the Viscount's Keep. They burst through the doors of the now abandoned high town estate, a red crest of two eagles spread above the doorway. They dropped the dwarf roughly into a chair.

"I've had gentler invitations but you certainly know how to handle a man," he said sarcastically, groaning.

"I am Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Chantry," announced a woman, stepping forward towards him. She nodded her and motioned for the two that brought the dwarf in to leave.

"And just… what is it you are seeking?" he asked.

"The Champion," Cassandra answered quickly.

The dwarf chuckled under his breath. "Which one?" he asked, examining the fingertips of his gloves.

"You know exactly why I'm here!" Cassandra shouted, throwing the book she held into the dwarf's face. She pulled out a dagger and held it close to his throat as the book fell into his lap and opened to a random page. "Time to start talking, dwarf. I hear that you're very good at it!" she threatened, stabbing the knife into the pages of the book.

The dwarf didn't seem phased by her anger and chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Start at the beginning."

"Very well. Hawke and her brother were escaping the Blight, but hordes of darkspawn stood between them and safety. Eventually they were cornered, and darkspawn were pouring out all around them. Suddenly a giant dragon came out of nowhere and-"

"Bullshit! That's not what really happened!" interjected Cassandra.

"Does that not match the story you've heard, Seeker?"

"I'm not interested in an elaborate piece of fiction. I came to hear the truth!"

"And what makes you think I know the truth?"

"Don't lie to me, Varric! You knew her even before she became the Champion!" Cassandra shouted, marching up to him.

Varric quickly held his hands up in defense. "Even if I did, I don't know where she is now. We all went our separate ways years ago."

"Do you have any idea what's at stake here?"

"Let me guess: your precious Chantry's fallen to pieces and put the entire world on the brink of war? And you need the one person who can help you put it back together" asked Varric. "Is that it? Did I get it right?"

"The Champion was at the heart of it before it even began. If you can't point me to her, tell me everything you know about her."

"Not worried that I'll make it up as I go along?" Varric asked.

"Not at all," she answered sternly.

"Then you'll need to hear the whole story," he said, leaning back into his chair.

* * *

Run.

That was the only thing on any of their minds right now. Their home, Lothering, had fallen when the darkspawn overran the village. Carver had just returned from the Battle of Ostagar, which was a huge disaster, and they barely had enough time to get away from the hordes that were slowly closing in on them. None of them knew how long they had been running, but Lothering was no longer in sight, in fact, nothing had been in sight for a while other than mountains.

At the front of their herd was Farren, Malcolm and Leandra's eldest child. After Malcolm passed away three years ago, he put Farren in charge of looking after the family, which she did with fervent determination.

Her lungs felt like they were on fire, as she compelled her sore legs to keep carrying her forward and away from the darkspawn chasing after them. She occasionally shot a glance behind her, to make sure her family, her mother Leandra, sister Bethany, brother Carver and her faithful mabari Leka, were close behind her.

Leandra suddenly stopped and fell to her knees, exhausted.

"Mother!" Farren heard Bethany cry and she skidded to a stop. Bethany waved her staff and a wall of fire erupted across the path they just came down, setting several darkspawn aflame. Farren slashed the blade of her staff at one hurlocks that made it through while Carver brought his thick blade down on another.

"Mother, are you all right?" Farren asked, as Bethany helped Leandra off the ground.

"Y-yes, I'm fine," she answered shakily.

"I think that's all of them," said Carver.

"For the moment," added Bethany.

"Maker save us, we've lost it all. Everything your father and I built… just gone!" Leandra cried, on the verge of breaking down.

"Mother, I know how much Lothering meant to you, but we have to keep moving," Farren said, gently placing a consoling hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Yes, yes you're right. I'm sorry, I'm just not taking this well," Leandra replied.

"I don't expect you to Mother. Losing our home isn't something anyone should have to face."

"Thank you, darling," Leandra said, taking Farren's hand in hers and squeezing it.

"We should have run sooner! Why did we wait so long?" cried Bethany, looking over to her twin.

"Why are you looking at me?" Carver snapped. "I've been running since Ostagar! If you wanted to bloody run so badly then you should've gone when you had the chance!"

"Mother wouldn't leave without you! We're a family and we have to stick together!" argued Bethany.

"That's enough, the both of you!" interjected Farren. "Carver this is no place to start a family squabble and Bethany you said so yourself that we're a family and we have to stick together!" Farren sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Listen, you two. I don't want to start a fight with either of you, especially not now, but if we don't get moving now the darkspawn will be on us!"

"Please, listen to your sister!" begged Leandra.

"Then let's go, lead the way, Sister," Carver said, Farren just picking up on Carver's resentment evident in his voice.

They continued down the path for several minutes before Bethany stopped them, panting heavily to catch her breath. "Wait, where are we even going?"

"Away from the darkspawn, where else?" retorted Carver.

"And then where? We can't just wander aimlessly with no plan or nowhere to go!"

"Bethany's right but what's important right now is that we stay together and we stay alive! Once we're clear from the darkspawn, we'll try to come up with something," said Farren.

Leandra cast her gaze down for a second before looking back up at her children "We can go to Kirkwall."

"Kirkwall?" cried Farren, taking a step back in surprise. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"There's a lot of templars in Kirkwall, Mother, certainly a lot more than in Lothering," said Bethany.

"I know that, but we still have family there – and an estate! It may not be much, but it's a start!" Leandra argued.

"Then we'll need to get to Gwaren and take ship," Bethany sighed as Leka barked in agreement.

"If we can survive that long, I'll just be happy to get out of here. I don't care if the city's infested with templars," Carver said with spite.

"Right, because it's not like you have anything to fear from templars," Farren whispered to Bethany as Carver thankfully didn't pick up on her words, for if he had, Carver surely would have erupted and started another fight.

"More darkspawn!" cried Bethany, as they all spotted a group of hurlocks down their path.

"Leka, stay back and protect Mother," Farren ordered, as her mabari responded obediently and remained by Leandra's side. Within seconds, the hurlocks fell to the ground, defeated but when Farren heard another clash of blades farther away from her, she looked up and saw a tall, strong woman with ginger hair tackle a hurlock to the ground.

"You will not have him!" she growled, decapitating the hurlock with it's own blade before retrieving her sword and picking up a shield with a crest, which Farren recognized immediately as the templar emblem. "They will not have you," she said tenderly to a man dressed in templar armor as she helped him up, "not while I still breathe."

"They need our help!" cried Leandra.

Farren nodded and she ran ahead to the man and woman, sending her magic flying at the hurlocks before being joined by Bethany and Carver. Once the darkspawn were all dealt with, the woman began tending to the man.

"Stop squirming, Wesley. You'll just make it worse," said the woman.

"Apostates, keep your distance!" Wesley cried, groaning in pain as he stood up.

"Well the Maker has a sense of humor. Darkspawn, and now a templar? I thought they all abandoned Lothering," said Bethany.

"The darkspawn are clear in their intent, but a mage is always unknown. The Order dictates…" he started.

"Wesley…" the woman said, trying to stop him.

"The Order dictates…" he said again, with more intent and force. He stepped forward to Bethany, but Farren stepped up to meet him, as they looked eyes in a glare.

"You're injured. We could heal that for you," Farren said.

"I will not accept help from an apostate!" Wesley protested.

"I wasn't offering," Farren replied.

"Dear, they saved us. The Maker understands," said the woman, gently placing her hand on Wesley's arm.

Wesley hesitated for a moment, before complying. "Of course."

"I am Aveline Vallen, and this is my husband, Ser Wesley. We can hate each other after we're safe from the horde," said the woman.

"You're quick to offer your allegiance," said Farren.

"Another blade between us and the darkspawn? Yes, please!" rejoiced Carver.

"So long as the horde is their first concern," Bethany said with emphasis.

"My duty is clear, but that… is for another day. If we are granted that opportunity," said Wesley.

"We will be fine, we all will," added Aveline.

"I'm watching you, templar," Farren said, pointing her finger at Wesley.

"And I you," Wesley said with equal threat, "Term I am sure we both expected."

"For now, we move with you. The north is cut off and we barely escaped the main body of the horde," explained Aveline.

"Oh no," whimpered Leandra, burying her face in her hands.

"Then…we're trapped? The Wilds are to the south and that's no way out!" cried Carver.

"We don't have much of a choice Carver. The darkspawn have us fenced in. We move south," said Farren, taking the lead.

As they moved, Leka remained close to Leandra and Aveline to her injured husband, while Bethany trailed behind, keeping a close eye on Wesley, who alternated glances between her and Farren with great suspicion.

They fought several groups of hurlocks before they got to a large open clearing. "Which way are we supposed to go now?" asked Bethany, as they all saw three different paths leading who knows where!

Before anyone could respond, they felt the ground shake beneath them as a giant ogre charged up from the middle path. It turned its attention to Bethany, who held out her staff and stood protectively in front of Leandra.

"Maker give me strength," she whispered, before shooting a fireball at the ogre's face. It flinched as the flames seared its face before roaring at Bethany.

Farren saw the ogre reach its giant had down to grasp Bethany and ran over to her sister. "Bethany, look out!" she cried, pushing Bethany out of the way as she felt large, meaty fingers wrapped around her body. She was instantly lifted into the air and struggled against the ogre's grip. Her staff was still gripped in her hand, but she managed to slip her other hand free and drew out her dagger, driving it right into the ogre's finder.

The ogre recoiled in pain before glaring and roaring at Farren. It raised the hand it held her in before bringing its fist straight into the ground, smashing her body again and again. She felt her bones break as blood spurted onto the ground and soaked into her clothes. The ogre gave a triumphant roar before tossing Farren's body aside. She landed roughly on the ground as Leandra called out her name in fear and ran to her daughter, gently cradling Farren's head on her lap.

"No, Farren. Farren, wake up! I already lost your father; I can't lose you too! I just can't! You can't die on me! We need you! Farren! Farren!" she shouted.

But Farren did not hear her mother's pleas. Her body was cold and rigid and no breath escaped her lips…

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. Hopefully writing this will quell my current obsession with the game because it's getting out of hand and I really don't think I can take another playthrough with all my school work piling up. I'm so good with priorities aren't I? *Sarcasm***

**So my first major change is quite obvious: Bethany and Carver both living and well... the other thing. Just keep reading for that. But I've always wondered what it would be like to have both Bethany and Carver because as much as I love Bethany, I love playing as a mage Hawke more and when you play as mage Hawke, as I'm sure we all know, you get stuck with whiny, bitch ass Carver.**

**I really wanted to incorporate some sort of prequel scene like before the events of the game of the Hawke family, but I just couldn't think of the way to approach it well. If anything else, I can just come back to that in the form of a flashback, right?**

**If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!**

**~ZP**


	2. Ayres and Cassin

**I don't want to entirely neglect this fic now that I've started a Sonic xover with Dragon Age since I literally just started it, so I decided to pump out the next chapter. And you, anonymous guest, how did you weasel yourself into my head? :S**

**Dragon Age belongs to Bioware. Farren is my Hawke. Other OCs introduced are mine.**

* * *

Farren's entire body was so sore, she tried to fight the need to wake up. With great reluctance, she groaned and squinted her eyes open. A bright light stung at her eyes, and she quickly closed them again, but slowly opened them again to adjust to the brightness. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, but everything around her appeared fuzzy and blurry, as if everything was trapped in a wavy, constant motion. With as much strength she could summon, Farren propped herself up on her elbows and tried to sit up, but a sharp pain tore through her back to her stomach, forcing her back down. She took in a few deep breaths before rolling over to her side and pushing herself off the ground from her knees. She stumbled for a moment, trying to regain her balance and her hand quickly flew to her forehead, trying to quell the sudden wave of dizziness.

Her head and back were aching and she nearly tripped on her own feet while she walked. She rubbed the side of her temple, trying desperately to remember the last thing she could. They were running, her, Leandra, Carver and Bethany. They were running from the darkspawn. Lothering was gone and they just barely made it out with their lives. Then they met a Templar and his wife… Aveline was her name. And the Templar, his name was Warren? No, Wesley! They agreed to travel together to escape the darkspawn, but Farren still didn't trust the Templar. She was a mage herself after all, along with Bethany. They had no reason to trust a Templar.

Farren pushed her mind harder, trying to move the events along. They got to a clearing, where more darkspawn poured in. And then… an ogre came out of nowhere and moved towards her mother and Bethany.

Bethany!

Everything came flooding back like a heavy rain pouring down from the sky. The ogre was reaching its large, meaty hand down to Bethany and Farren had pushed her out of the way. The ogre claimed her instead and she…

"I'm dead," Farren whispered, finally realizing what was going on and that she was in the Fade. She should have recognized it's cloudy and surreal landscape sooner. Her knees felt weak and she felt forward onto them roughly, her mind ignoring the pain that momentarily shot through her legs.

She was dead.

Farren just stared off into the distance, as if she was unable to wrap her head around the truth of it. She couldn't be dead! She just couldn't! She was supposed to look after the family. That was her job after Father died. How could she have let this happen? Her mother, bless her soul, would never be able to move past this. Leandra was no leader and their father's death had already taken such a toll on her heart. Bethany was kind and sweet, always willing to help and while Farren loved this about her sister, it was what made Bethany a poor leader. She never liked being in charge; she preferred following. And Carver. Carver would think he's the right man for the job, but he'd charge off without thinking of the consequences before it was too late. Though it sounded grim, Farren's family would be doomed without her. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as she finally released the tears and sobs she was desperately trying to hold back.

"Farren, wake up please! The battle's over! We're all all right!" Farren's head snapped up when she recognized the voice of her mother. She quickly got to her feet, looking all around her, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Mother, she's…" Next was Bethany.

"No! She can't be! I can't lose her too! My Farren, my little girl!" their mother wept.

"Mother! Bethany! Hello? Can you hear me?" Farren shouted into their air, her voice echoing off into the distance and falling on deaf ears.

"Mother, we have to keep moving," Carver's stern voice rang in.

"How can you say that? We can't just leave her here!" her mother's voice pleaded.

"The darkspawn could be on us any minute. We have to get moving or they'll catch up and we'll all die!" he stressed. "Farren wouldn't want her sacrifice to be in vain," he said, in a softer tone.

"Carver! Mother! Bethany! Anyone! Please, can anybody hear me?" Farren called out, shouting in frustration when she again received no answer.

A piercing shriek suddenly rang through the air as Farren barely caught a glimpse of two swift streams of light whizzing by her. She followed the lights up the path, pushing her sore and tired muscles to catch up. Once she reached the top of the hill, the two streams of light appeared again, zigzagging across the sky of the Fade before coming to a stop in front of her. The light coming off the two figures before her was bright, but she could just make out the shape of two birds, one faintly blue and the other red.

"A-are you a demon?" she asked, cautious.

"She thinks us a demon, brother!" spoke the blue bird with a laugh.

"Ha! Such a naïve mind, yet so much potential. Truly a shame that you met your end the way you did," spoke the red bird.

"Then what are you?"

"There was a time when we were known as a single being. But such a time was long, long before you. My name is Ayres and my brother is called Cassin. But we were once called Amell," said the blue spirit.

"Amell? Th-that's my mother family name," said Farren.

"Of course it is. Your family line came from us," boasted the red spirit.

"What?"

"We are two halves of the same whole; we are a spirit of duality. We have been watching you for some time, as we have with all our own. Such a young mind with so much potential… we paid special interest to you. The way you valiantly stepped in to protect your sister, so brave and yet so brash, so affectionate yet fierce," said Ayres.

"At first we thought little of you, but when we took a closer look, we saw many things about you that peaked our interests. The way you can appear so tender and docile, and then in an instant become ferocious and aggressive. It is no surprise you would earn the special attention of a spirit of duality," continued Cassin.

"What does it matter now? I am dead! How will my family possibly escape the darkspawn now?"

"And that is why we have approached you now. It is the power of a spirit, do you know? Our power? To restore you to life?" chirped Ayres.

"I am no fool! My father taught me never to make deals with demons!"

"WE ARE NO DEMON!" Cassin suddenly burst forward, his size growing exponentially as he towered over Farren, who fell back in shock. She could feel heat emanating from his body, as flames danced across his form and lightning shot forth from his wings.

"Be calm, brother. We get nowhere with you acting on your anger," Ayres interjected, putting herself between her brother and Farren.

Cassin groaned and returned to his smaller size. "I… apologize, sister. I do lack your patience and gentleness."

"Why are you doing this?" Farren breathed, eyeing the two bird-spirits.

"It is rare to see the qualities of duality take form in a single individual. Each Amell we have seen either took after myself – like Leandra and Bethany – or Cassin – like Carver. For this reason, we take special interest in you. You have changed destiny. By stepping in, you have altered the course Bethany's fate. She was meant to die at that ogre's hand and now that is no longer the case. Imagine if you will, what more you could accomplish," Ayres whispered, floating in front of Farren's face.

"I don't make deals with spirits. They always want something; you always want something!"

"We want you alive, no more no less. We expect nothing in return; we only wish to observe where fate takes you and how you face it when it comes," said Ayres.

"This is our gift to you. Your choice is irrelevant," added Cassin. Before Farren could utter another protest, the two birds suddenly began glowing brightly and leapt towards her.

* * *

**So a while back I got the idea of what Hawke would be like if she were like Anders. You know, bonded with a spirit. So I started looking into what kind of spirit Hawke would be bonded with. First, I looked at the Amell crest and decided to base Ayres and Cassin here off that, since there are two eagles in the Amell crest. Ayres and Cassin's names also derive from two species of Hawk-Eagles (Ayres' Hawk-Eagle and Cassin's Hawk-Eagle). Since Amell meant "power of an eagle" and Hawke was, well, "hawk" I figured those were would be suitable names.**

**The idea behind them is that they are one spirit split into two and represent duality, which is also why Farren is an elemental and primal mage. Fire vs. ice and sky vs. earth. Ayres, the female, represents ice, earth, gentleness and is basically "paragon" while Cassin, male, represents fire, sky, aggression and is basically "renegade." I guess the simple way of imagining this would be that Hawke will now have a little angel and devil talking in her head. **

**Next Chapter: First Breath - Farren's life is saved by the mysterious twin spirits, Ayres and Cassin. But the threat of the darkspawn still remains.**


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